Andrea Molarius

For Head Start organizations preparing for competition, the waiting may finally be coming to an end. The Office of Head Start’s current funding forecast indicates that the next group of Head Start and Early Head Start competitive funding opportunities is anticipated to post October 14, 2026, with applications due December 15, 2026. That means programs should be preparing for an approximately 60-day application window. And this is not a competition where organizations should wait for the...

For decades, Head Start leaders have operated some of the most complex early childhood programs in the country. Now, proposed changes to Head Start requirements are creating a new reason for programs to examine how that work gets done. One proposed change would significantly reduce the amount of Head Start funding that can be used for administrative costs. If changes of this magnitude move forward, programs may need to rethink long-standing administrative structures and find new ways to...

he proposed changes to Head Start are being presented as an opportunity to reduce bureaucracy, increase flexibility, and redirect more resources toward children. Those are goals most Head Start leaders can support. But there is a question every Head Start program should be asking: Where do the projected savings actually come from? The answer matters. The Administration for Children and Families estimates that the proposed rule could produce approximately $2.2 billion in annual quantified...